Foster Care for Adults

About Foster Care
Adult foster care providers offer a family-centered living situation in their home that provides adults protection and assistance with personal care. Adult foster care provides people with a community living alternative which includes the normal support of everyday life - family, friends, job or training activities, recreational opportunities, and the privacy and comfort of a home setting.

Scott County Foster Care elder women embraced by loving care giver
As an adult foster care provider you will help people help themselves. The Scott County Minnesota Foster Care Program believes that people are happiest when living active and purposeful lives in their own community.

People living in adult foster care homes are men and women, 18 years of age and older, who, because of mental or physical disability, cannot live independently. This living arrangement is intended for single persons or husband and wife, with no more than four such persons in a single-family home. The care may be provided by single or married people over the age of 21 who meet the qualifications and criteria established for providers of adult foster care. For additional information, please visit theRequirements page.
Reasons for Care
Individuals placed in adult foster homes have varying diagnoses, and, in fact, often have a combination of diagnoses. Foster homes can serve individuals who are developmentally disabled, mentally ill, physically disabled, elderly and sometimes persons who are chemically dependent. These individuals must have a social worker/case manager involved in their lives who assess the need for placement, structure the terms of placement, and follow-up to determine if the placement is suitable.

People living in adult foster care homes often come from unsafe living situations and need support to transition from an institutional setting to a more mainstream lifestyle within their community. Adult foster care homes provide room, board, and laundry services as well as assistance with taking medication and personal hygiene.

Additional certification and licensure may be required to be able to accept waiver funding for adult foster care placements. Please contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services for more information by calling 651-431-6624.

Adult Foster Care Program Placement
If foster care is appropriate, the county foster care licensor is notified. The licensor will then check into the availability and willingness of foster care homes to accept a new resident.

At this time, a pre-placement visit to the prospective foster care home is arranged. The purpose of the visit is 2-fold: 1) for the prospective resident to see the house and surrounding community; and 2) for the resident and provider to meet and get to know each other, as well as any roommates to see if this living arrangement would work out.
If everyone agrees the arrangement is acceptable and the provider can meet the adult's needs, plans for placement are initiated. If either party declines, other plans are made. No arrangement is necessarily permanent and either party may terminate the agreement should the need develop.

Types of Placement
Placements in Adult Foster Care tend to be longer term, based on the needs of the adult in care. For some individuals, this may mean a placement of six months to a year to stabilize their mental health and transition to an independent living arrangement. For other individuals, they could need to be in an environment like an adult foster home for their entire life. There are also needs for respite care for adults, which would be planned short-term care to give the primary caregiver a break.

For More Information
For more information about being a foster care provider, please visit the What to Expect page or contact the Scott County Minnesota Foster Care at 952-445-7751 or email.